


Losing Their Marbles

by Jarl_Deathwolf



Series: Adrien AUGreste 2020 [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Akuma Battle, F/M, Fluff, Kwami Swap, Ladybug Adrien Agreste | Mister Bug, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Turtle Nino Lahiffe | Carapace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:14:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26037745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jarl_Deathwolf/pseuds/Jarl_Deathwolf
Summary: With Alya and Marinette out of town, it is up to Carapace and Mister Bug to watch over Paris! But the greatest enemy they face isn't an akuma but loneliness. :(
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Series: Adrien AUGreste 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1869955
Comments: 16
Kudos: 116





	Losing Their Marbles

**Author's Note:**

> Entry three of four of my Adrien Augreste one shots! This one had Mister Bug as the week prompt, and Bugaboy, No Girls Allowed, and Plagg as my selection of daily prompts. Enjoy!

Patrol was quiet.

Maybe it was because Chat Noir and Carapace rarely patrolled together - especially since it wasn’t exactly Chat Noir on patrol tonight. Sure, it was still Adrien under the mask, but with Marinette out of town for a couple weeks, someone had to wear the spots. And who better than her partner and boyfriend?

Thinking about the fashion event again, that was probably the real reason the two of them were in a funk. After all, it’s not like Adrien was a stranger to hanging out with his best bro Nino, masks or no. But neither of them had gotten to see their respective girlfriends for the past two weeks since both of them had made that trip to London together - Marinette to participate and Alya to report for the news outlet she was working for these days. 

It also helped that Hawkmoth had been surprisingly quiet for the past couple weeks. There really wasn’t anything to distract them while they patrolled and the city was oddly quiet. And not just in the masks too - most of their friends seemed to be out of town. 

Luka had gone on tour with Jagged Stone, leaving his Snake miraculous behind. Kagami had gone back to Japan because of some family emergency. With Marinette and Alya in London, almost the entire hero squad was out of action. 

“Ugh!” 

Mister Bug lifted his head off of the metal railing to look around for the familiar disgusted voice. He found Plagg watching them from a satellite dish, his black fur making him practically invisible except for his big green eyes looking down on them.

“What’re you grippin’ about now, cat dude?” Carapace said, crossing his arms at Plagg and leaning back against the rooftop railing. “Your fancy feast not up to your expectations?”

“My camembert isn’t the problem, shell boy,” Plagg shot back. “It’s you two moping around yet again just ‘cause your girlfriends aren’t here for you to make goo goo eyes at.”

Mister Bug rolled his eyes. “We aren’t moping!” 

“Kid,” Plagg said, staring him down, “you might be able to lie to each other and yourselves, but I know for a fact you’ve been cuddling your new Ladybug body pillow every night since she left.” He tossed his wedge of camembert in the air and ate it in one gulp. “Just admit you’re lonely and save us all the trouble.”

“No we aren’t!” Carapace lied.

“Yeah?” Plagg said with a lazy yawn. “Then prove it. Do something else besides mope.”

Mister Bug and Carapace gave each other uncertain looks before Mister Bug shrugged. 

“So, how’s the mixing going for Jagged Stone?”

“Good enough.” Plagg disappeared into Mister Bug’s yoyo. 

After a moment of silence, Carapace shook his head. “It’s not going half bad. Not exactly what I thought I’d be doing working for the legend himself, but I love the work and it gives me plenty of time for fun projects.”

“Fun projects like your movie script?” 

“Definitely, bro! Though I’ve gotta say the writing and the mixing and putting out original music… creatively, it is super exhausting.”

“I bet! Sometimes I get exhausted just _looking_ at your soundcloud.”

The two of them shared a laugh. 

“What about you, my dude?” Carapace lightly punched Mister Bug’s shoulder. “I know you ain’t a slouch. Especially now that you aren’t working for someone’s else’s dream but your own.”

“You’re not wrong there.” Mister Bug sighed and turned around, leaning his back against the railing. “I still have to do some modeling if I want to get my flower shop off the ground but…” He looked up at the moon hanging bright above Paris. “...I’m getting there. My happily ever after.”

Carapace snorted.

“Got a problem with that, shell boy?”

“Nah, just thinking that you and M are perfect for each other is all.”

“Good,” Mister Bug said with a huff. “Because we are.”

Their conversation was cut off there when the sound of something large crashing suddenly drew their attention. They exchanged looks of surprise before they ran off towards it.

Just like they suspected, it was an akuma. After a two week dry spell, it came as a bit of a shock. Did Hawkmoth finally notice that most of the heroes of Paris were missing? Or did their theory that Hawkmoth was a part of the fashion world suddenly gain some credence? After all, many of the designers who presented early in the event would have headed home by now. Maybe Hawkmoth was among them. 

For now, all Mister Bug and Carapace needed to do was worry about the akuma. They could figure out the implications of their enemy’s disappearance and reappearance later. 

Tonight’s akuma wasn’t anything incredibly special - someone in the flowing robes with stars and moons sewn on them of a magician’s costume floating around the city. The magician cackled with delight at the devastation they caused, gesturing with one hand to pick up objects, no matter how massive and tossing them around. Cars and buses were thrown just as easily as mailboxes and benches. 

But it was what was in the akuma’s other hand that caught Mister Bug’s attention.

“Do you see that spoon?” Mister Bug said, pointing toward the akuma.

“Weird choice for an akuma object, but I’m not about to complain.”

They winced as a car went through a building. It was an empty office complex, but the next one might not be. If they wanted to keep the magician from doing more damage, they needed to act now.

“Hey, weirdo!” Carapace shouted as he tossed his shield, the two of them leaping down to the streets below while it went spinning towards the akuma. “Catch!”

The shield suddenly froze in midair as an aura of purple energy surrounded it - the same energy that rolled off the magician akuma in waves. She smiled malevolently, her hand held out in front of her in a stop gesture. 

Carapace held his fist up, his forearm right in front of his face, which was screwed up in concentration. The smile immediately vanished from the akuma’s face as the shield was jerkily pulled towards Carapace in small and quick jumps. She focused even harder to maintain her control, her hand clenching into a fist that she shakily pulled toward her. 

Eventually the miraculous proved stronger - either that, or the akuma didn’t want to get stuck in a tug of war. The shield slammed back onto Carapace’s arm.

“Shelter!”

No sooner did the green force field go up than the barrage began. It was slow but steady as the akuma repeatedly made one handed throwing gestures with cars responding in kind. Through it all, Carapace held firm with a steely look of determination on his face as he watched cars hurtling towards them, only for them to break upon his impenetrable shield. Not once did he flinch. 

After a few seconds of this, he shouted over his shoulder at Mister Bug, “Got any plans, Spots?”

“No clue.” Mister Bug poked his head around his friend, squinting through the debris raining down on them to look at the akuma. “Maybe a lucky charm will help?”

“Prolly can’t hurt, dude.”

“Lucky Charm!” Mister Bug held out his hands for whatever would come down. Secretly he hoped for a net launcher or a tranquilizer dart. Something nice and straightforward.

A bag of marbles (red and black ones, naturally) landed in his hands. 

Mister Bug sighed. 

“What’re we working with?” Another car shattered against the green dome. 

“Marbles, looks like.” A park bench burst into pieces. Mister Bug stroked his chin and stared at the heavy bag. “What can we do with marbles…?”

“Trip the akuma?” A street lamp bent against the shield. 

“Bro, she’s floating.”

“Ah, right.”

“What if we just… get a sock, fill it with the marbles and just wail on her?”

Carapace shook his head as a bus bounced off his force field. “If we could get in beating sock range, we could just punch her.” Carapace frowned. “How about flicking the marbles at her as a distraction?”

“She’d just catch them.” Mister Bug’s eyes lit up as an idea came to him. “Unless…”

Mister Bug gently tossed up the bag and caught it a couple times, getting the feel of its weight. His other hand grabbed his yoyo and got it ready as well. He waited for the right moment, watching the oncoming traffic carefully until…

Now!

He threw the bag with all his considerable might at the akuma. The yoyo was sent right after it. His timing was dead on and just as the akuma reached a hand to stop the bag, the yoyo connected with it, bursting the bag and sending a storm of marbles against her. In wide eyed surprise, the akuma reached out with both hands to stop it.

“She dropped the spoon!” Mister Bug excitedly slapped Carapace’s back and pointed at the spoon in question. “Run run run, get it!”

Under the cover of the shield, they bolted for the spoon. By the time the akuma realized what was happening, it was too late - Mister Bug held it triumphantly in his hands.

“So… how do I…?” Mister Bug glanced at Carapace, who shrugged. “Do I just bend it…?”

As soon as the spoon was bent into a right angle, the akuma came fluttering out in a panic. Carapace caught the falling de-akumatized woman as Mister Bug purified the butterfly. Scooping up a bunch of marbles, he tossed them into the air.

“Miraculous Mister Bug!”

The city was set back to normal. Mister Bug and Carapace shared a grin. Ladybug and Rena will be so proud of them when they get back!


End file.
